Custom PP/CS Turnkey Workstation Vendor Reviews at DVinfo.net

Ed Przyzycki · February 27th, 2010, 01:37 PM

Hi-

I realize that building your own PP/CS workstation is the most economical, but I am prepared to spent 6-7k and get a system that works and is guaranteed (for a few years) out of the box. I'm considering Core Microsystems (Core Microsystems - Video Editing & Graphic Systems) and Safe Harbor (Products for video and post professionals - Safe Harbor 800-544-6599) at the moment. Does anyone have experience with these or other turnkey NLE solution providers? I'm looking for warranty/product support experiences/issues, system reliability, etc.

I'm going to hold out purchasing until CS5 and the CUDA requirements, etc are public - but in the meantime I'm gathering background on potential providers.

I'll be working/editing in XDCAM-EX primarily, although clients tend to bring in almost anything. (Having the ability to edit 10bit 4:2:2 would be nice, but the majority goes to Blu-Ray, so it's a bit overkill) I'm thinking I'll also want an HD-SDI card for input/live SD/HD output, at least a quad core, 12-24GB RAM, a NVIDIA card of some type and probably an external RAID solution.

I'm looking at a CoreMicro Decklink HD Extreme 3 Turnkey with some of the options listed above.

Thoughts?

Eugene J. Kulak · February 27th, 2010, 02:25 PM

I have been dealing with Safe Harbor for about 6 years now and have found them to stand behind their products. I have had two editing systems built by them and they are rock solid. I had one issue with the new one but Tom worked with me and Matrox to solve the problem which turned out to be a bios setting. I would reccommend them to anyone.

Gene...

Marty Baggen · February 27th, 2010, 06:10 PM

Any of the sponsors found here would certainly be a good place to start.

Steve Kalle · February 27th, 2010, 09:31 PM

First off, I don't trust Coremicro due to their low quality website. Some links are wrong and many specifications are incorrect.

SafeHarbor is reputable but I didn't find any worthwhile turnkey systems for PC users.

For a video editing PC, you can't go wrong with the HP Z series, either the Z400 (1 CPU) or Z800 (2 CPU).

I have found that In/Out cards impose restrictions on editing, some more, some less. I find Matrox to be completely useless for Premiere on the PC (you can find my prior posts on the matter). I think Cineform, BM & Premiere don't work for live monitoring but Aja Xena does. From what I have read, the Aja products tend to be more compatible with various products.

For external Raid, the Areca 1680x or Adaptec 5085.

Ed Przyzycki · March 1st, 2010, 11:31 AM

Thanks Eugene, Marty and Steve. I've been burned with legacy hardware boards in the past.

February 27th, 2010, 01:37 PM	#1
Ed Przyzycki Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: SouthWest Suburbs of Chicago, IL Posts: 55	Custom PP/CS Turnkey Workstation Vendor Reviews Hi- I realize that building your own PP/CS workstation is the most economical, but I am prepared to spent 6-7k and get a system that works and is guaranteed (for a few years) out of the box. I'm considering Core Microsystems (Core Microsystems - Video Editing & Graphic Systems) and Safe Harbor (Products for video and post professionals - Safe Harbor 800-544-6599) at the moment. Does anyone have experience with these or other turnkey NLE solution providers? I'm looking for warranty/product support experiences/issues, system reliability, etc. I'm going to hold out purchasing until CS5 and the CUDA requirements, etc are public - but in the meantime I'm gathering background on potential providers. I'll be working/editing in XDCAM-EX primarily, although clients tend to bring in almost anything. (Having the ability to edit 10bit 4:2:2 would be nice, but the majority goes to Blu-Ray, so it's a bit overkill) I'm thinking I'll also want an HD-SDI card for input/live SD/HD output, at least a quad core, 12-24GB RAM, a NVIDIA card of some type and probably an external RAID solution. I'm looking at a CoreMicro Decklink HD Extreme 3 Turnkey with some of the options listed above. Thoughts?

February 27th, 2010, 02:25 PM	#2
Eugene J. Kulak Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Britain, CT Posts: 95	I have been dealing with Safe Harbor for about 6 years now and have found them to stand behind their products. I have had two editing systems built by them and they are rock solid. I had one issue with the new one but Tom worked with me and Matrox to solve the problem which turned out to be a bios setting. I would reccommend them to anyone. Gene... __________________ Gene, Black Hole Video

February 27th, 2010, 06:10 PM	#3
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	Any of the sponsors found here would certainly be a good place to start.

February 27th, 2010, 09:31 PM	#4
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	First off, I don't trust Coremicro due to their low quality website. Some links are wrong and many specifications are incorrect. SafeHarbor is reputable but I didn't find any worthwhile turnkey systems for PC users. For a video editing PC, you can't go wrong with the HP Z series, either the Z400 (1 CPU) or Z800 (2 CPU). I have found that In/Out cards impose restrictions on editing, some more, some less. I find Matrox to be completely useless for Premiere on the PC (you can find my prior posts on the matter). I think Cineform, BM & Premiere don't work for live monitoring but Aja Xena does. From what I have read, the Aja products tend to be more compatible with various products. For external Raid, the Areca 1680x or Adaptec 5085.

March 1st, 2010, 11:31 AM	#5
Ed Przyzycki Regular Crew Join Date: May 2009 Location: SouthWest Suburbs of Chicago, IL Posts: 55	Thanks Eugene, Marty and Steve. I've been burned with legacy hardware boards in the past.